Hogmanay 2018 in Stromness

This is our third Hogmanay here. Our celebrations tend to be fairly muted but I still seem to feel a bit fuzzy on New Year’s Day!

2017 was a special year in Stromness, this is the 200th anniversary of Stromness becoming a Burgh of Barony (don’t ask) in 1817 and a number of events have been organised throughout the year by the excellent Per Mare committee (Per Mare is the town motto – By Sea). This Hogmanay saw the revival of the Yule Log, an old street game last played in 1937. It involves two teams, Soothenders and Northenders – 40 men and women in each team, taking part in a tug-of-war where the teams attempt to pull a 400kg log to their respective ends of the town. To be clear, that’s a 400kg log PLUS the struggling opponents to be dragged about 100 yards along the street. The Soothenders made it look quite easy and won convincingly. Helen and I are Soothenders – hurray!!

The event was well attended and hopefully the Yule Log can continue as a Stromness tradition, or at least until somebody is maimed!?

January Generally

Following the jollities of Christmas, January is always a bit of a miserable month. Here the days are still fairly short and the weather swings between grey skies with wind and rain and beautiful sunny days without a cloud in the sky. We are, however, regularly treated to spectacular sunrises and sunsets at more civilised hours than in the longer summer days.

We have had a bit more snow than usual this year and colder temperatures have made it stay longer. Hoy always looks great and even Graemsay got a dusting.

January is a time when the island’s ferries go for their annual maintenance and service. This year our faithful Hamnavoe was replaced with the huge freight carrier Helliar. Hamnavoe is a nice, stable ship and, generally, provides comfortable crossings. Hopefully, it won’t be out of service for too long.

Stromness is known for the old, narrow twisty streets. The principal road through the town has this slab and cobble arrangement. The slabs were too slippery for carts pulled by horses, so the central cobbled strip was added to allow horses to get a grip. The streets are quiet at this time of year and the locals can enjoy a stroll without being run over.

January saw H’s Dad celebrate his 90th birthday in Kettering and she went south for the celebrations. A great opportunity to catch up with the family. A long journey, though, ferry from Kirkwall to Aberdeen followed by train to Peterborough. Fortunately, she had a decent journey in both directions.

 

Go to February 2018

2017 saw us sell our wee house in Lochinver as part of our move to Orkney. A very sad time for us. We had spent some ten years holidaying there and made many good friends.

Lochinver is situated at the head of a sea loch in a remote corner of the northwest of Scotland. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful and spectacular parts of the country. Stunning beaches, iconic mountains and abundant wildlife make every visit a delight.

The village itself, considering its remoteness, is well served with amenities. Several excellent restaurants (including a Michelin star) specialise in local ingredients, particularly seafood. There’s a great little bookshop and café in Inverkirkaig, where we were always made to feel welcome. Entertainment was provided in the village hall, including international acts that came up from the Edinburgh Festival. Movies are provided by the touring Screen Machine – a cinema in a truck!

Definitely not “goodbye” to Lochinver and we’ll be going back for holidays and keeping in touch with old friends.

Around Stromness

This is a nice pictorial map of Stromness, showing the layout of the town. Well Park is marked at bottom left, next to the George Mackay Brown Garden. Stromness Museum is shown at left middle and Graham Place (where H works at the Red Cross shop) can be seen in the centre, indicating our long commutes to work. The map also shows the locations of the blue plaques, dotted through the town, showing points of historical interest.

Super Moon over the Flow

Got this shot of the moon over Houghton Head. The wisps of cloud made it appear to be wearing a bandit mask.

Wintry Hoy Ahoy

We don’t get too much snow in Orkney, so it’s always nice to see the neighbouring island of Hoy with a touch on the hills. The roofless building in the centre was Stromness’ first lifeboat station. Established in 1867, 2017 was the 150th anniversary and was marked by the unveiling of a plaque at the old station and a flotilla of the local lifeboats into the harbour.

Up Hellihole

Just outside Gray’s Noust is the bottom of Hellihole Road, a name which seems to amuse the visitors and is much photographed. It’s one of the steeper roads in Stromness and can be tricky in winter. The building is the former Stromness Library and is now an Arts Studio.

Climbing the hill, the road passes Stromness’ “Leading Lights” (not me and H, as I’m sure you thought). The two lights, when aligned, guide shipping into the harbour below.

The name Hellihole is derived from “Haley Hole”, a mineral well nearby, which was believed to have health giving properties. At one time it was visited by pilgrims who considered it a “miracle well”.

Around the corner, on Back Road, is this nice little cottage, The beehive structure on the corner was a type of kiln used for drying grain.

Continuing along Back Road, we can detour up to the “Citadel”, this was the site of an Anti Aircraft battery in WWII and gives great views over Hoy Sound. In the foreground is the site of the Ness Battery, first established in 1914 and updated in 1938. It guards the western entrance to Scapa Flow.

The Citadel also gives a good view to the east, past Hoy High lighthouse (on Graemsay) across the Flow to Cava and Flotta.

From here it’s just an easy 10 minute stroll downhill back home. A nice wee walk.

The Old Warehouse Buildings

This is another of Stromness’ blue plaques, recording that the “Old Warehouse Buildings” were built in the 1760s for the storage of rice brought from the American colonies during the Seven Years War. This building now houses the new library, the Council offices and the Police station but has no signage indicating this. Stromness operates on a need to know only basis, also known as “aabody kens”.

Groatie Buckies

These little shells are “groatie buckies”, or spotted cowries. They are much sought after by Orcadians for good luck. It is common to see entire families bent double, scouring the beaches in search of them.

Stromness Sailing Club

Thursday evenings see Stromness Sailing Club out on the water for their weekly get together. Here they are in Stromness Harbour enjoying a beautiful evening.

Mapping the Town

The main streets of Stromness are to be scanned using a laser 3D scanning system. A team from Robert Gordon University (RGU) carry out laser scanning of the town’s historic and architecturally unique Victoria Street, capturing key points such as well-known building facades and the topography and layout. This is their scanned image of Stromness Museum. (Article from The Orcadian).